1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to oral hygiene appliances and more specifically to devices which promote oral hygiene by removing debris from one""s tongue.
2. Antecedents of the Invention
The general public has been highly conscious of oral hygiene, not only from a social standpoint, but additionally in its relationship to overall health. While basic oral hygiene devices such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, tooth powder, interdental stimulators, interproximal brushes, dental floss, toothpicks and dental picks, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,548, have been in use through the years, in recent years there has been a proliferation of do-it-yourself oral hygiene cosmetic products, including various tooth whitening preparations, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,268 as well as tooth polishers, for improvement of the appearance of one""s mouth.
The public has also been cognizant of the need to combat mouth malodor in daily social encounters. Various factors have been attributed to the generation of oral malodor including improper brushing, failure to brush and/or failure to floss. Other factors include the presence of various compounds in the oral cavity which are alleged to cause malodor, such as hydrogen sulfide.
It has also been recognized that minute food particles and debris as well as odor producing bacteria resided on the tongue, particularly on the dorsal (upper) surface thereof, i.e. the dorsum.
The dorsum has been characterized as a rough surface which is covered with papillae. The anterior of the dorsum is covered with fungiform papillae and the posterior (pharyngeal) surface is covered with fungiform papillae interspersed with filiform papillae.
Food particles and the breakdown products of foods became lodged in crevices between the papillae. Dense bacterial populations and the many bacterial species resident on the dorsum have been known to colonize. It is believed that the dorsum is the source of most of the bacteria in the oral cavity and the source of oral malodor.
The prevalent use of mouthwashes, breath mints and breath sprays did not alleviate or reduce the source of malodor, but merely served to mask the condition.
Various tongue scrapers such as those disclosed in the patents to Heisinger (U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,864), Andrews (U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,478), Nack (U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,179) and Bhaskar (U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,592) are among the devices which have been suggested for cleaning the tongue to remove food debris and other material accumulated on the dorsum.
Although such devices were capable of scraping the dorsum and loosening debris accumulated thereon, absent was the ability to adequately scrape the pharyngeal tissue surface due to the tendency of any scraping appliance to induce a gag reflex. Additionally, treatment of existing malodor conditions required the employment of a mouthwash or other breath freshener since tongue scrapers provided primarily prophylactic, rather than immediate relief.
Further, none of the prior devices gained a measure consumer acceptance, either because they were too difficult to use, to costly to manufacture, or were otherwise unsuited for general use.
A breath system appliance with a dorsal troche applicator and a scraper includes a generally flat, relatively thin, elongate body. Projecting transversely from the longitudinal axis of the body at one end thereof is a generally planar, relatively thin troche applicator head while a scraper head projects transversely from the other end of the body.
Adhered to a face of the applicator head is a thin troche having oral hygiene and/or breath freshening active constituents. The troche is applied by rubbing over dorsal surfaces whereby the active constituents are released when the troche dissolves in saliva.
The troche may be applied to the dorsal surfaces either before or after scraping the dorsal surfaces with an array of ribs and/or teeth which project from the scraper head.
The lower face of the scraper head includes the ribs, while the opposite face carries a peripheral array of teeth.
From the foregoing compendium, it will be appreciated that it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is not subject to the disadvantages of the antecedents of the invention aforementioned.
A feature of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is well suited to promote overall oral hygiene and to reduce the rate of plaque formation in the oral cavity.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is simple to use.
Another further feature of the present invention is to provide a self-contained oral hygiene appliance of the general character described which is well suited to effectively dislodge debris from surfaces of the dorsum.
To provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which reduces the tendency of a user to gag is a still further aspect of the present invention.
Another consideration of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is portable and well suited for carrying about one""s person for routine usage away from home.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is disposable and thus well suited for one time usage by hotel guests, at health spas, and the like.
It is a further aspect of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is relatively low in cost and well suited for economic mass production fabrication.
Yet another consideration of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described wherein dorsal surfaces are coated with a breath freshening and/or oral hygiene medium for effective removal of food debris, bacteria and other risk factors associated with oral odor as well as for providing immediate alleviation of oral malodor.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is well suited to utilize any of a number of active constituents or combinations thereof for efficacious treatment of oral malodor.
An additional feature of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is capable of dispensing a coating of active constituents over dorsal surfaces for enhanced freshening of dorsal surfaces.
A still further consideration of the present invention is to provide a breath system appliance of the general character described which is highly efficacious for both immediate and long term alleviation of oral malodor.
Other aspects, features and considerations of the present invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.
With these ends in view, the invention finds embodiment and certain combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and series of steps by which the aforesaid aspects, features and considerations and certain other aspects, features and considerations are attained, or with reference to the accompanying drawings and the scope of which will be more particularly pointed out and indicated in the appended claims.